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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Susan Boyle reveals she suffered a stroke leaving her afraid she would never perform again

Legendary Britain’s Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle made a triumphant return to the stage during this year’s final, but revealed it almost didn’t happen after suffering a stroke.

The Scottish singer, 62, shot to fame on the ITV talent show back in 2009 when she finished in second place after wowing the judges and the audience with her spine-tingling rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Miserables.

Fast forward to now and seven studio albums later, Boyle has been noticeably missing from the spotlight of late.

After performing her signature song with the West End cast of Les Mis during the final on Sunday, hosts Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly rushed to grab some words with him.

“Susan, it is so lovely to see you, welcome,” Donnelly told her, adding: “It’s hard to believe that you appeared on this show in 2009, 14 years ago.

“How does it feel to be back at BGT?”

Boyle responded: “It feels great,” which saw the audience give her a loud cheer as she continued: “It’s really good.

“It’s extra special for me actually, last April there, I suffered a minor stroke and I thought it’d be crazy to be back on stage and I have done it.”

BGT judge Simon Cowell confirmed that he had known that she had been unwell and hailed her as “amazing” saying that the show had a lot to thank her for.

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